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A new data center built by Digital Realty Trust for graphics chipmaking specialist Nvidia will be one of the most energy efficient facilities in the world. Digital Realty (DLR) said today that it has been awarded a LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for a new Silicon Valley data center that will be occupied by Nvidia (NVDA). The Platinum award is the highest level of certification available through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)program, a voluntary rating system for energy efficient buildings.

"Achieving LEED platinum certification means that attention has been paid to every aspect of the building's design and construction, including the operating energy efficiency of the finished data center, as well as often overlooked, key issues such as building materials, materials re-use and construction practices," said Jim Smith, CTO of Digital Realty Trust. "Through a LEED program in conjunction with a PUE-optimized datacenter, we have been able to repeatedly meet sustainable and effective corporate green strategies."

The Nvidia facility will use air-side economization, which enables the facility to use 100 percent outside air for cooling. Based on historical weather data for Silicon Valley, the data center will be able to take advantage of this feature more than 65 percent of each year. At full load, this should produce an estimated 3.5 million kilowatt hours of annual energy savings worth more than $250,000 annually at today's energy prices.

Digital Realty said the site achieved a peak power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.31 during the commissioning process. The site also supports real-time PUE monitoring, allowing users to monitor PUE in 15-minute increments and identify trends in PUE metrics over time.